Media & Communications Law

Afternoon Briefs: Boston Marathon bomber wins death penalty appeal; what’s in the GOP coronavirus bill?

Appeals court overturns Boston Marathon bomber’s death sentence A federal appeals court has overturned the death sentence for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Boston ruled Friday that the trial judge did not adequately screen jurors for potential bias. The judge “fell…

Jul 31, 2020 4:40 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: 2 BigLaw firms have no Black partners; judge finishes backlog of civil case motions

These BigLaw firms have no Black partners Two of the country’s top law firms stand out for the wrong reason—they have no Black partners. The firms are Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Haynes and Boone. Cravath’s only Black partner left in 2017 to become a judge on New York’s top…

Jul 8, 2020 4:49 PM CDT

Afternoon briefs: TRO lifted against Mary Trump publisher; Jeffrey Epstein associate arrested

Appeals court lifts TRO against Mary Trump publisher A New York appeals court on Wednesday lifted a temporary restraining order that blocked Simon & Schuster from publishing a tell-all book by Mary Trump, President Donald Trump’s niece. The Appellate Division’s Second Judicial Department of the New York State Supreme Court…

Jul 2, 2020 4:51 PM CDT

Twitter dismissed from Rep. Devin Nunes’ defamation suit over parody accounts

A Virginia judge has dismissed Twitter from a $250 million defamation suit filed by Republican California congressman Devin Nunes that targeted parody accounts claiming to be written by Nunes’ mother and a cow.

Jun 25, 2020 12:43 PM CDT

The new world of litigating workplace disputes with social media

Social media has undoubtedly changed the way we communicate, receive news and stay connected in our personal lives. But social media is a headache, once we consider legal and compliance best practices when such interactions in the workplace go awry.

Jun 17, 2020 8:30 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Trump signs policing order; rogue worker tweets from court’s Twitter account

Trump signs executive order encouraging chokehold limits President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that encourages better policing practices. The order allocates discretionary grants to police departments that seek credentials from organizations certified by the U.S. attorney general. The organizations would review police department practices, confirm that the departments…

Jun 16, 2020 3:33 PM CDT

Legal experts question legitimacy of Trump’s order limiting social media platforms

Legal experts are weighing in on President Donald Trump’s move to curtail protections for social media, expressing skepticism that it would actually be enforced or survive judicial scrutiny.

May 29, 2020 12:01 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Trump order limits social media protections; Texas court curbs mail-in ballots

Trump order seeks to curtail legal protections for social media President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that seeks to reinterpret the Communications Decency Act, which protects websites from liability for publishing third-party content. Trump signed the order after Twitter labeled two of his tweets as “potentially misleading.” A…

May 28, 2020 4:38 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge orders shelter for homeless people; state must release execution drug info

Judge orders LA to find shelter for homeless near freeways On Friday, U.S. District Judge David Carter ordered the county and city of Los Angeles to find shelter for up to 7,000 homeless people living near freeways. Carter said shelters must allow for appropriate social distancing, along with adequate showers…

May 18, 2020 4:47 PM CDT

Lawsuit claims sheriff threatened to arrest teen if she didn’t delete COVID-19 social media posts

The parents of a 16-year-old Wisconsin girl have filed a lawsuit claiming that the Marquette County sheriff threatened to arrest the teen and her parents if she didn’t delete social media posts that read that she had COVID-19.

Apr 20, 2020 10:15 AM CDT

Lawyer sues over social media posts claiming he made racist remarks in social distancing tiff

A Philadelphia lawyer has filed a defamation suit against a jogger and her cousin over their posts on social media about a confrontation over social distancing.

Apr 16, 2020 9:57 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Harvard Law prof drops ‘clickbait defamation’ suit; Trump campaign sues TV station over ad

Law prof drops ‘clickbait defamation’ suit after edits Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig has dropped his “clickbait defamation” lawsuit against the New York Times after the newspaper changed part of an article. Lessig had claimed that the article mischaracterized his essay in which he criticized the scapegoating of a researcher…

Apr 14, 2020 3:07 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS Comcast case is a serious loss for civil rights

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on March 23 in Comcast v. National Association of African American Owned Media is a significant setback for civil rights plaintiffs. Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky explains what the case did and why it matters.

Apr 2, 2020 11:40 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Athletes aim for law school; lawsuits target Zoom over Facebook sharing

Pro basketball players shoot for law school Imani McGee-Stafford, a center with the Dallas Wings, is leaving the basketball court and headed to the Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. McGee-Stafford, who is 25, also played for the Chicago Sky and the Atlanta Dream. Meanwhile Garrett Temple, a guard with…

Apr 1, 2020 4:55 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: ABA backs stay-home exemption for legal services; PG&E to plead guilty in fire deaths

ABA: Exempt legal services from any US stay-home order ABA President Judy Perry Martinez says legal services should be deemed essential and exempted from any national stay-home order. “The American people and U.S. business community must have access to the legal services they need—when they need them most, in this…

Mar 25, 2020 4:05 PM CDT